A History of Domestic Space: Privacy and the Canadian Home

Laurie C.C. Stanley-Blackwell is an associate professor of history at
St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia.

In A History of Domestic Space, Peter Ward demonstrates that houses are
containers of social values filled with “human meaning.” Drawing
from an impressive array of architectural examples from across Canada,
he explores the evolution of Canadian domestic space, its links to
personal and family privacy, and the interactive relationship between
human beings and their homes. As he charts changing interior
configurations from the one-room pioneer cabin to the detached suburban
family house to the modern high-rise apartment, Ward shows that domestic
space is neither a neutral nor a static medium.

The author captures many of the subtleties of how people have used and
organized space in the Canadian home. Over three centuries, interior
space has responded to a host of influences such as household
composition, family size, cultural traditions, socioeconomic trends,
esthetic sensibilities, and domestic and communication technologies. The
development of function-specific rooms and the shifting social meanings
of the parlor, kitchen, and bedroom, as well as the metamorphoses of
fireplace to furnace, candles to electric light, and privy to flush
toilet have all left an imprint on interior spatial arrangements and the
dynamics of family and public space. Even exterior elements such as
gardens, porches, and lawns have played a role in shaping household
relations and social behavior.

However engrossing, the book’s examination of the connections between
Canadian housing forms, notions of individualism and privacy, and
cultural and philosophical influences is somewhat sweeping. Ward’s
discussion of the implications of shared, communal space vis а vis
personalized, private space on family roles, especially parent-child and
sibling relationships, is equally cursory.

These caveats aside, readers will enjoy this humanized view of Canadian
architecture. Much of the book’s appeal can be attributed to the
author’s lively, jargon-free writing style. The illustrations,
architectural plans, and photographs greatly enhance its accessibility.
Ward’s book is a welcome complement to the recently published
Homeplace by Peter Ennals and Deryck Holdsworth. With the appearance of
these two volumes, one hopes that historians will turn their attention
to a comprehensive study of the household artifacts and daily rituals
that enlivened these domestic spaces.